Notes from TNT’s Coverage of the NBA Playoffs – Monday, April 20, 2009
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
TNT’s “40 Games in 40 Nights” NBA Playoffs coverage continues on Tuesday, April 21st with the Detroit Pistons @ Cleveland Cavaliers (Game #2) at 8 p.m. ET followed by Utah Jazz @ Los Angeles Lakers (Game #2).
TNT NBA Tip-off presented by AutoTrader.com
Announcers: Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith
Smith on Celtics guard Ray Allen bouncing back from his struggles in Game #1: “Ray Allen is a proven playoff performer. He’s had bad games in the playoffs and he knows how to bounce back. He knows how to get open and get his shot off.”
Barkley on the ‘X’ factor in the Mavericks/Spurs series: “I don’t think Josh Howard is the ‘X’ factor. I think the ‘X’ factor is someone on the Spurs. I don’t think they can score enough. They’ve got two All-Star players, if they both score 30, that’s not enough to beat the Mavs. The Mavs are going to score, someone on the Spurs has to step up and score.”
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Game #1: Chicago Bulls (115) @ Boston Celtics (118) - Series tied 1-1
Announcers: Kevin Harlan, Doug Collins; and David Aldridge reporting
Collins on the factors that led to the improvement by the Chicago Bulls over the course of the season: “I think it’s a combination of the trade (with Sacramento), the continued growth of Vinny Del Negro as a coach, the improved play of (Joakim) Noah, Tyrus Thomas and Derrick Rose. It all seemed to come together at the right time for the Chicago Bulls.”
Collins on Bulls guard Ben Gordon wearing out Celtics guard Ray Allen: “I think chasing Ben Gordon around the entire game is taking its toll on Ray Allen. Many times your best defense is making a guy play defense against you.”
Collins on injured Celtics forward Kevin Garnett: “(Kevin Garnett) is the best in the NBA at being able to show (the ball), get the guard through, get back to his man and recover. When he’s in the game, the Celtics are on a string defensively.”
Collins on what Bulls center Brad Miller brings to the team: “(Brad Miller) is a good fit next to Joakim Noah or Tyrus Thomas. Both of those guys are very emotional, high energy guys. Brad Miller is a slow moving guy, he can make the open shot and is an excellent free throw shooter. (Bulls head coach) Vinny Del Negro likes him on the floor late in games for his passing, he makes shots, and for his experience.”
TNT’s David Aldridge interviewed Bulls guard Ben Gordon after the first half.
Gordon on Bulls center Brad Miller: “He’s given us a lot of poise and experience at the center position, we didn’t have that before. He’s really helped the young guys. He’s a terrific rebounder, passer, and mid-range shooter so he’s helped us a lot.”
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T-Mobile Halftime Report
Announcers: Johnson, Barkley and Smith
Smith on how Celtics guard Stephon Marbury needs to step up if Rondo is hurt for an extended amount of time: “If Rajon Rondo is hurt for an extended amount of time, it puts more pressure on Stephon Marbury. (Marbury) for some reason, has stage fright in terms of shooting the basketball. He’s wide-open and he’s passing up shots. This is big because you have one guy who doesn’t want to make it happen.”
Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki on forward Josh Howard‘s return to the lineup: “These last couple of weeks of the regular season were big for us, getting Josh (Howard) finally healthy and him looking good and moving well and doing the little things we need him to do on both ends of the floor. We had some big wins and that really built our confidence, our confidence is as high as it has been all season because of that.”
Smith on the Spurs allowing the Mavericks to take too many shots: “You can’t give any pro, wide-open shots, I don’t care who they are. (Mavericks guard) J.J. Barea shouldn’t have had 14 shots, forget the points, he shouldn’t have had that many attempts. This is a playoff setting, a guy like that doesn’t come in and take that many shots unless he is getting really good looks.”
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Collins on the growth of Bulls head coach Vinny Del Negro: “Vinny (Del Negro) is growing on the job. You can see his confidence (growing), there’s a real trust that his team has in him. They are playing their best basketball of the year at the right time.”
Collins on the offensive rebounding of Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose: “Both of the point guards can really get to the offensive backboards. Derrick Rose is a very good offensive rebounder, as well as Rondo.”
Collins on the Bulls youth playing to their advantage: “Sometimes being young helps. You have fresher legs and sometimes you don’t realize how big the games are. You just play, and that’s what Chicago is doing, they’re just playing.”
TNT’s David Aldridge interviewed Celtics guard Ray Allen who hit the winning shot with two seconds left and finished with 30 points.
Allen on the Celtics offensive output in Game #2: “I think that offensively, we were stagnant. Rondo had a great game for us but we didn’t have anything great going for us. As a team, I wanted to get us all going.”
Allen on the challenge of guarding Bulls guard Ben Gordon: “(Guarding Ben Gordon is) a great challenge. Last year, I (guarded) Rip (Hamilton), who also went to the University of Connecticut. This year, with B.G., he’s a tough player, he’s great on the ball and I have to rely on my team to finish. Tonight he got hot and we’re ready for the challenge in Chicago.”
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Game #2: Dallas Mavericks (84) @ San Antonio Spurs (105) - Series tied at 1-1.
Announcers: Dick Stockton, Mike Fratello; and Marty Snider reporting
Fratello on Spurs guard Tony Parker taking on more scoring responsibilities with Manu Ginobili injured: “Now you have a two-prong attack rather than having that third guy who can give you points. A larger scoring burden has fallen on the shoulders of Tony Parker which takes a lot of energy out of him because he is constantly trying to drive guys off of screens or he’s trying to run off of screens to put the ball in someone else’s hands to initiate the offense.”
Fratello on teams forcing Tony Parker and Jason Kidd into jump shots: “Most teams will make (Tony) Parker and (Jason) Kidd beat them from the outside. They don’t really believe in their ability to knock down jump shots on a regular basis. They’d rather take away their dribble penetration and force them into jump shots.”
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T-Mobile Halftime Report
Announcers: Johnson, Barkley and Smith
Barkley on Celtics center Kendrick Perkins’ big game: “Ray Allen is going to get all the love but Kendrick Perkins was big tonight. Ray Allen is going to get all the well-deserved glory, but there was a Kendrick Perkins sighting (tonight).”
Barkley on how confidence separates good players and great players: “You can’t ever worry about your confidence. You have to keep jacking it up. That’s what separates good players and great players…you can never lose your confidence.”
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Fratello on the veterans on the Mavericks and Spurs getting some extra rest: “Both of these teams have a lot of veteran players on them. They get two days off between (Games #2 and #3) before they have to show up and play again in Dallas. They’ll get a rest day and then a light practice the day before the next game.”
TNT’s Marty Snider interviewed Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich after the third quarter
Popovich on the Spurs playing well after losing Game #1: “It’s a team of character guys. I don’t have to save too much, they know they have to come back because their backs are up against the wall.”
Fratello on what the Spurs are lacking with Manu Ginobili injured: “It’s a certain spirit (Manu Ginobili) gives (the Spurs). Both Tony Parker and Tim Duncan are more laid-back type of people. They aren’t vocal people who overly assert themselves. They (lead) with their play on the floor. Ginobili is a fiery guy whose play shows it and he’ll talk about it, too.”
Fratello on Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown, who was named Coach of the Year: “So many times the guy who wins the most games doesn’t get the recognition. People will say that he’s got a great team or a great player. But so what…you still have to coach those guys and get them prepared for every game. You’ve got to have a little bit of luck along the way but when you do an outstanding job, like Mike Brown did, you should be rewarded.”
TNT’s Marty Snider interviewed Spurs guard Tony Parker after the game.
Parker on what the Spurs did differently in Game #2 following the Game #1 loss: “We didn’t panic. We watched film to see what we did wrong in Game #1. We made some adjustments and Game #2 was a lot better for us. Hopefully we can do the same thing in Game #3.”
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Inside the NBA presented by Hyundai
Announcers: Johnson, Barkley and Smith
Barkley on the Dallas Mavericks playing with a lack of intensity in Game #2 against the San Antonio Spurs: “You can tell (Dallas) didn’t try to get greedy. They came out with no intensity, then they tried to pick it up but it was too late. Tony Parker came out really aggressive, Jason Kidd could not keep him in front of him. No one else had a monster game, everyone else chipped in, but Tony Parker dominated this game from beginning to end.”
Smith on the Bulls and Mavericks, two teams who stole the home court in Game #1, each playing with different energy in Game#2: “If you watched the way (the Mavericks) took the ball out of bounds after a made basket on the first night and then watched the second (night) everything was different, the body language was different, the intensity was different, the facial expressions were different. We saw in the first game the Chicago Bulls were trying to be greedy, (they were) not satisfied, their energy level was totally different. A 10-point lead in the first game was not insurmountable and in the second game it was like, ‘ok, we’ll just wait until we get back home.’”
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant on why the Lakers are playing so well: “The thing that jumps out right away is our health because everyone’s healthy. So what that does is it increases our size, increases our depth and our versatility to be able to play a multitude of styles.”
Jazz guard Deron Williams on playing the Lakers: “It’s tough, it’s a tough task. We never said it was going to be easy, we came into this series as the underdogs and we’re going to have a tough time beating this team especially on their home floor. They have a great supporting cast they have guys who come in and hit shots and make plays for them and it seems like they don’t lose anything when they come in with that second group.”
Barkley on why the Rockets will win the series against the Trail Blazers: “Houston’s going to beat (the Trail Blazers). Brandon Roy is a terrific player, put him against Ron Artest, that’s pretty much a wash and that’s the only advantage Portland had at any position. My criticism is they don’t ever get any easy baskets, they are a jump shooting team. I don’t see Roy dominating Ron Artest, Yao Ming is going to get his, and the rest of the players are jump shooters. Until (the Trail Blazers) find a way to get easier baskets, they are not going to beat the Rockets.”
Smith on the Trail Blazers lacking an advantage at the center position against the Rockets: “Normally the Portland Trail Blazers have an advantage at the center position defensively. (Joel) Przybilla and Greg Oden can really keep centers at bay, but they can’t keep Yao Ming at bay so all of a sudden they don’t have an advantage because on the other end those two guys don’t score and now they aren’t effective.”
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